Second Language (L2) Learners’ Perceptions of Online-Based Pronunciation Instruction

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the widespread adoption of online instruction all around the world. In fact, in the post-pandemic era, online teaching and learning are proliferating and are considered as alternatives to traditional learning. The current study investigated L2 learners’ perceptions of an online pronunciation course. Sixty L2 learners, ranging in age from 18 to 60, were recruited from different intensive English programs (IEPs) across the United States and six other countries, including India, Brazil, China, France, Russia, and Canada. The participants received online-based computer-assisted pronunciation training (CAPT) on Moodle over a period of three weeks and completed an online survey on Qualtrics. The results of the quantitative and qualitative data collected from the learners at the end of the course showed that the learners were highly satisfied with their own performance and that they found the online course highly useful and preferred it over a face-to-face pronunciation course. The findings provide valuable insights into the design and delivery of online courses for pronunciation teachers. The findings also suggest that CAPT can effectively support asynchronous L2 pronunciation teaching.

1. Introduction

The global pandemic brought about substantial changes in foreign language education, the most significant of which was a shift from face-to-face classroom instruction to synchronous or asynchronous online teaching (Agopian, 2022). This abrupt change in the mode of instruction was challenging for teachers and students alike. On the one hand, instructors were forced to implement major adjustments in their curriculums, procedures, and expectations to make them appropriate for online instruction (Moser et al., 2021). On the other hand, students faced issues pertaining to facilitated access to proper study materials and had to make extra efforts to maintain their attendance and participation in the online environment, which lacked the interactivity of face-to-face classes (Pandit & Agrawal, 2022).

Although the acute impacts of the global pandemic have largely waned, the widespread popularity of online instruction has sustained. In fact, in the post-pandemic era, online teaching and learning are proliferating and considered as an alternative to customary face-to-face classroom (Adedoyin & Soykan, 2023). In response to the growing recognition of online teaching, a number of studies have aimed to investigate the effectiveness of online language instruction and reported that it could be as effective as traditional, face-to-face instruction (e.g., Dixon et al., 2021; Lin, 2015; Thoms, 2014, 2020). Notwithstanding these promising findings, many learners continue to voice their concerns regarding the value of online instruction for teaching second language (L2) oral skills—pronunciation in particular. This concern mainly stems from the potential shortcomings of online environments for teaching pronunciation, including a lack of interaction and immediate feedback, technical issues (a lack of access to fast bandwidth and reliable devices), limited opportunities for self-assessment, and a lack of proper access to digital sources, especially in low-resource contexts, inter alia (Dawadi et al., 2024; J. Lee & Lee, 2023). These challenges, among others, have rendered online pronunciation instruction an unviable option, disfavored by most teachers and learners (Mavridi, 2022; Schaffner & Stefanutti, 2022).

Despite the aforementioned criticisms, many researchers highlight the potential of online pronunciation instruction through the integration of computer-assisted pronunciation training (CAPT) resources and systems (Rogerson-Revell, 2021). As a valuable innovation, CAPT can provide tailor-made instruction in online environments, and “when constructed wisely, it can be both effective and flexible in addressing pronunciation instruction” (Levis, 2007, p. 185). CAPT affords numerous advantages, including providing a stress-free environment, exposure to ample oral input, providing visual feedback, and flexibility for learners to practice at their own pace (Neri et al., 2006; Rogerson-Revell, 2021). In recent years, with the proliferation of web-based platforms and online learning management systems, interest in CAPT has been surging (see, for example, García et al., 2020; Lima, 2020; Pourhosein Gilakjani & Rahimy, 2020), yet research on the effectiveness of online pronunciation instruction from L2 learners’ perspective is scarce. Given the existing shortcomings, the current study sought to examine L2 learners’ perceptions of an online pronunciation course featuring CAPT resources. The findings will offer valuable insights for future educators and course designers, providing practical guidance for creating more effective and engaging online pronunciation courses that enhance learning outcomes in digital language instruction.

1.1. Literature Review

1.1.1. Online L2 Instruction

The popularity of online education has been gaining momentum in recent years. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2023), the number of U.S. students who took exclusively online education courses rose from 24% in 2019 to 34% in 2021. The gradual but steady movement toward online education can be attributed to a number of factors, including globalization, unprecedented and perpetual advances in digital technologies, and the COVID-19 pandemic that gave language educators first-hand knowledge about the potential of online education for teaching L2 skills (Dixon et al., 2021). Based on how online technologies are implemented in the design of courses, online instruction can be classified into five different types: enhanced, which is face-to-face classes supported by some course content and activities online; blended/hybrid, which is a combination of face-to-face and online activities, with the number of face-to-face classes reduced in favor of online learning; flipped, in which the main course content is delivered online, and face-to-face class meetings are saved for interactive problem solving; synchronous online, in which all instruction is delivered online, and students meet virtually online at the same time; and asynchronous online, in which all instruction is delivered online, and all activities and tasks should be completed asynchronously (Murray & Christison, 2018).

The effectiveness of online language instruction has been investigated extensively in the literature (e.g., Enkin & Mejías-Bikandi, 2017; Dixon & Christison, 2021; Salcedo, 2010; Moser et al., 2021). The findings of previous research in this domain have also been analyzed at the meta-analytic level on several occasions. Aggregating findings from 11 primary studies, Dixon et al. (2021) reported that hybrid language instruction could be just as effective as face-to-face instruction and that the effectiveness of hybrid language courses was likely to be moderated by a number of variables, such as the amount of reduction in face-to-face time, the use of online activities provided by textbook publishers, the use of a learning management system, advances in digital technologies, and the targeted language skills, among others. Lin (2015) synthesized results from 25 studies on the effects of online language instruction on L2 oral proficiency and reported an average effect of d = 0.40, indicating a moderate superiority of online instruction over face-to-face classes. The findings further revealed that while online instruction facilitated the promotion of pronunciation, lexical, and syntactic components of oral proficiency, it hindered accuracy and fluency. Finally, synthesizing the findings of previous research on online language learning, Thoms (2014, 2020) reported that online instruction can be as effective as traditional face-to-face courses. Overall, the previous literature suggests that language instruction would yield comparable outcomes, whether it be delivered online or face-to-face.

1.1.2. Online L2 Pronunciation Instruction

Pronunciation plays an integral role in successful L2 communication, as the accurate comprehension and production of phonological cues impacts native and non-native speakers’ understanding of L2 speech in real-life situations (Crowther et al., 2015; Derwing & Munro, 2015; Levis, 2020; Suzukida & Saito, 2022). There has been accumulating empirical evidence (e.g., Gordon & Darcy, 2016; J. Lee et al., 2015; B. Lee et al., 2020; Saito & Plonsky, 2019; Zhang & Yuan, 2020) confirming that instruction is facilitative of L2 pronunciation learning. The majority of these studies, nevertheless, have investigated the effectiveness of instruction in face-to-face classroom settings, and in comparison, only a few (e.g., Dalman, 2022; Lima, 2020; Meritan, 2022; Hirschi, 2024) have examined the efficacy of pronunciation instruction in the online environment.

Dalman (2022) explored the effectiveness of short-term (asynchronous) online pronunciation instruction conducted through Moodle in improving L2 learners’ pronunciation proficiency at the global (i.e., intelligibility and comprehensibility) and specific (i.e., segmentals and suprasegmentals) level. The results showed that after three weeks of intensive online instruction, L2 learners obtained significant gains in intelligibility and comprehensibility as well as in some specific pronunciation features (e.g., segmentals, lexical stress, prominence). In a similar study involving international teaching assistants (ITAs) as the target population, Lima (2020) found that the effectiveness of online pronunciation instruction was largely determined by the degree of the participants’ engagement with the online course. In this study, only those ITAs (5 out of 12) who were committed to completing all assigned activities exhibited significant gains in comprehensibility. Meritan (2022) investigated (1) the effects of online pronunciation instruction on L2 French learners’ intelligibility and comprehensibility and (2) whether the effects of online instruction varied depending on whether L2 learners attended the class face-to-face or virtually. The result showed that, overall, online instruction was effective in enhancing L2 French learners’ intelligibility and comprehensibility and that the effectiveness of online instruction was not influenced by participants’ mode of attendance. The findings confirmed that language teachers could develop online pronunciation lessons using different materials (e.g., PowerPoint, YouTube videos, and free websites) and then assign them as homework to students. Indeed, this “homework-based pronunciation training can possibly be effective and therefore free up time in the classroom for language instructors” (Meritan, 2022, p. 890). In a more recent study, Hirschi (2024) examined the effectiveness of a three-week mobile-assisted pronunciation training (MAPT) course in improving L2 learners’ pronunciation proficiency and reported significant gains in the L2 learners’ intelligibility and comprehensibility as well as high functional load segmental contrasts and intonation signaling agreement. Overall, the burgeoning literature suggests that online pronunciation instruction is effective and most likely yields comparable results to face-to-face instruction. Although these findings are insightful, they have mostly measured “effectiveness” in terms of learners’ gains or lack thereof rather than learners’ perceptions following an online pronunciation course. Learners’ perceptions, however, are important because they determine learners’ engagement with the course materials as well as the amount of effort and energy they invest in learning new content (Noels & Lou, 2015). In addition, previous research has consistently reported that learners’ engagement and the amount of effort they invest predict their gains in various aspects of the L2, including written text quality (e.g., Dao et al., 2021), speech comprehensibility (e.g., Lima, 2020), lexical stress accuracy (e.g., Saeli et al., 2020), and segmental accuracy (e.g., Saeli et al., 2021). In this regard, it is both timely and prudent to conduct research to investigate L2 learners’ perceptions of an online pronunciation course and explore factors that shape their perceptions.

1.1.3. Learners’ Perceptions of Online L2 Instruction

The widespread popularity of online language education has prompted an active research agenda on issues pertaining to learners’ perceptions and acceptability of online instruction. The existing research has shown that learners might have different beliefs about the effectiveness and usefulness of online L2 instruction (e.g., Alhamami, 2022; Gleason & Suvorov, 2012; Sagarra & Zapata, 2008; Tecedor & Perez, 2021; Wright, 2017), most of which are positive evidence about its effectiveness. While a substantial body of research has been performed to understand learners’ perceptions of online L2 instruction in general, less research has been conducted on learners’ perceptions of online pronunciation instruction. Recently, Lima (2020) investigated ITAs’ perceptions of a fully online (asynchronous) instructional treatment based on suprasegmental features (i.e., word stress, rhythm, and intonation). The data collected through an online survey administered toward the end of the online instruction indicated that, overall, the ITAs found the online course to be useful, appealing, and of excellent quality. The ITAs also showed varying degrees of dedication to the online course, and those who were highly dedicated demonstrated significant gains in their comprehensibility (i.e., ease of understanding). This experiment is among the few studies that exploited CAPT resources (e.g., Audacity and Praat) for providing online pronunciation instruction to L2 learners. Although these findings are encouraging, this study focused exclusively on the perceptions of twelve ITAs, which is a narrow participant pool tied to a specific academic context. The current study, on the other hand, explores the perceptions of a larger pool of learners across diverse contexts (English as a Second Language and English as a Foreign Language learners). This wider and more inclusive participant base enhances the generalizability of the findings.

1.1.4. The Role of Technology in Online Pronunciation Instruction

An effective complement to online-based pronunciation teaching is CAPT, which features the application of digital technologies for teaching pronunciation. In addition to providing learners with ample practice opportunities, CAPT promotes learners’ autonomy and affords the possibility of individual instruction and instant (visual) feedback (Levis, 2007; Neri et al., 2002; Thomson & Derwing, 2015). In classes with many learners from different L1 backgrounds, it is often challenging and time-consuming to provide instant feedback on the learners’ pronunciation deviations that affect their intelligibility and comprehensibility. In addition, many language teachers lack sufficient training or confidence to address complex pronunciation issues effectively or to offer detailed pronunciation feedback (Couper, 2017). In this regard, CAPT tools can assist learners in working on their pronunciation skills independently. CAPT resources have been exploited for teaching both segmentals (e.g., Kissling, 2013; J. Y. Lee, 2009; Thomson, 2011) and suprasegmentals (e.g., Chun et al., 2013; Hardison, 2004). Some segmental studies (e.g., Lavan et al., 2019; Shinohara & Iverson, 2018; Thomson, 2011) adopted the High Variability Phonetic Training (HPVT) technique to enhance learners’ perception of phonetic contrasts through listening to minimal pairs produced by different speakers in miscellaneous contexts. Several others (e.g., Wang, 2002; Wang & Munro, 2004) promoted the identification of sounds by manipulating natural speech. Most suprasegmental studies (e.g., Hardison, 2004; Hirata, 2004) used CAPT resources (e.g., Praat) for teaching intonation. In these studies, learners produced an utterance, and the pitch contour of their utterance was displayed in real-time on the monitor screen. Then, the native speaker (NS)’s version was displayed and overlaid on the learners’. The learners were then encouraged to repeat their utterances several times until their pitch contour matched that of the NS.

1.2. The Present Study

This study is part of a larger project investigating the extent to which a short-term online-based CAPT could enhance L2 English learners’ pronunciation proficiency (i.e., intelligibility and comprehensibility). The primary focus of the current study is on the L2 learners’ perceptions of the online pronunciation course in terms of (1) how they evaluated their own performance during the online pronunciation course, (2) how they evaluated the online pronunciation course per se, (3) what type of pronunciation course they were more inclined to take in the future based on their experience with taking this online course and why, and (4) their overall attitude towards what they liked most about the online course and what suggestions they had for improving the course in the future.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Participants

A total of 82 English L2 learners were initially recruited from different intensive English programs (IEPs) across the U.S. and other countries around the world via professional listservs, social media, and direct connection with universities offering English language instruction. During the first or second week of the online course, 22 participants (26%) withdrew, leaving a final sample of 60 learners who completed the online pronunciation course. The participants were from the U.S. (n = 39) and 6 other countries, including India (n = 5), Brazil (n = 6), China (n = 4), France (n = 4), Russia (n = 1) and Canada (n = 1). The participants were randomly assigned to one of two instructional groups: the intelligibility group (n = 30), which received online instruction on intelligibility-based pronunciation features and the comparison group (n = 30), which received online instruction on English segmentals. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 60 years old (M = 27.22, SD = 10.11) and had previously studied English at school from 9 to 16 years (M = 11.01, SD = 2.24). The gender breakdown was 71.6% female (n = 43) and 28.3% male (n = 17). The participants were all intermediate L2 learners based on their self-reported speaking scores on the international English proficiency tests (i.e., the TOEFL iBT, IELTS, or Duolingo) or on the in-house placement test administered by their IEP.

2.2. Online-Based Instruction

The intelligibility and comparison group received pronunciation training through two fully online modules: the intelligibility module and the segmental module hosted on Moodle. Each module comprised six lessons, and each lesson focused on one specific pronunciation feature. The intelligibility module included lessons on the pronunciation features that promote intelligibility (i.e., highly functional load consonants/vowels, lexical stress, thought grouping, prominence, and intonation), and the segmental module incorporated lessons on teaching English segmentals advocated in traditional, accuracy-oriented approaches to pronunciation instruction. Modelled on Celce-Murcia et al.’s (2010) communicative framework, each lesson contained (1) instructional lectures, (2) perception exercises, and (3) controlled, guided, and communicative production exercises. Instructional lectures were short videos (15–20 min each) created by the researcher using PowerPoint and recorded on Zoom to raise the learners’ awareness of the feature under study. Perception exercises were created using the built-in quiz function of Moodle. The perception exercises assessed learners’ understanding of the presented lessons and provided scores and immediate feedback. For instance, the learners practiced distinguishing sound contrasts in contextualized discrimination exercises with minimal pairs (e.g., this is a beautiful hat/hut), listened to multi-syllabic words and identified which syllable received the primary stress, listened to short sentences and identified the prominent syllable(s) in each sentence, and listened to short sentences and marked information as given or new base on the speaker’s tone choice. The production exercises comprised an array of controlled, guided, and communicative exercises, which prompted learners to role-play monologues and dialogues, produce extemporaneous speech in response to open-ended speaking prompts, and record their speech and analyze it for stress and pitch contour using Praat. For example, the production exercises in the high functional load consonants’ and vowels’ lessons asked the learners (1) to read aloud sentences containing minimal pairs (e.g., I put the pin in the bin; I lived in the hut in the hot summer); (2) to role-play reading aloud a dialogue, where the sounds (i.e., consonants and vowels) focused on in the module were highlighted in the dialogue; (3) to choose words from a list of options (each one of the words in the list included the sound contrasts that the learners had learned in that module) and create a short story; and (4) to produce extemporaneous speech in response to open-ended speaking prompts. In the lexical stress lesson, the learners were asked to (1) read aloud pairs of words that differed in stress pattern due to affixation (e.g., analysis/analytic and aroma/aromatic) and record their voice using Praat, (2) create a short story using all the derivatives of the words in a given list (e.g., music/musician and library/librarian), and (3) produce extemporaneous speech in response to an open-ended speaking prompt. On average, each lesson consisted of three production exercises, and the researcher provided explicit oral corrective feedback on the learners’ audio-recorded responses to the production exercises for a given lesson and encouraged them to listen to the feedback before they embarked on a new lesson. For the lesson on intonation, in addition to the regular feedback on the learners’ performance, the researcher provided NS recordings of the sentences along with the visual displays of the pitch contours, so that the learners could compare their own recordings and visual displays of pitch contours with those of NSs. To prevent learners from completing lessons all at once in one single week, the lessons were hidden from the learners’ view and became available to them on the scheduled date and time.

2.3. Materials

The study materials consisted of a participant demographic questionnaire and an online pronunciation course evaluation questionnaire.

The demographic questionnaire asked participants to report their age, gender, L1 background, country of origin, the number of years they studied English at school, and their speaking proficiency test scores.

The online pronunciation course evaluation questionnaire was the modified version of the instruments developed by L. Lee (2016) and Lima (2020) and included different types of questions (i.e., short answer, multiple choice, and Likert-type questions, as well as comment sections after some closed questions). The questionnaire was designed to collect both quantitative and qualitative data with respect to (1) how the participants evaluated their own performance during the online pronunciation course (i.e., how dedicated they were; how much they learned compared to a regular, face-to-face class; how much they engaged with the instructor’s feedback; and whether they had an overall positive experience); (2) how they evaluated the online pronunciation course per se in terms of overall usefulness, quality, and clarity of the instructions; (3) what type of pronunciation course they were more likely to take in the future based on their experience with taking this online course; and (4) their overall attitude towards what they liked most about the online course and what suggestions they had for improving the course in the future.

2.4. Procedure

All phases of the study were conducted entirely online. After completing an informed consent and the demographic questionnaire via Qualtrics, L2 learners in the two instructional groups received three weeks of pronunciation instruction through two separate modules hosted on Moodle. At the end of the online pronunciation course, the learners completed the pronunciation course evaluation questionnaire administered online through Qualtrics.

3. Data Analysis

Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected through Qualtrics and exported to a .csv file. The learners’ responses to multiple choice and Likert-type questions were analyzed quantitively, and the results were reported in percentages. The learners’ responses to open-ended questions were analyzed qualitatively, and the results were reported descriptively. To analyze the qualitative data, pre-defined categories were extracted based on the learners’ responses to the open-ended questions, and an initial coding scheme was developed. Then, the researcher met with a data analyst online through Zoom to discuss the predefined categories included in the initial coding scheme. Before meeting online, the researcher shared the learners’ responses as well as the initial coding scheme with the data analyst. During the online meeting, after reviewing the learners’ responses critically, an agreement was reached on changes to be made in the categories included in the initial coding scheme, and a revised coding scheme was subsequently developed. Then, in order to establish inter-coder reliability, 20% of the data (responses of 12 learners) were coded by the data analyst, and the results were compared with those of the researcher. The results of the inter-coder agreement are displayed in

Table 1. Summary of inter-coder reliability results for qualitative data.

Open-Ended Question	Agreement
What type of pronunciation course are you more inclined to take in the future based on your experience with the current online course? Why?	96%
What did you like most about the online course?	94%
What suggestions do you have for improving the online course in the future?	98%

below. As the two instructional groups exhibited comparable perceptions of the online pronunciation course, the two groups’ responses were collapsed for the subsequent analyses.

4. Results and Discussion

The results are organized according to the themes covered by the questionnaire, namely, learners’ responses regarding (a) how they evaluated their own performance, (b) how they evaluated the online pronunciation course, (c) what type of pronunciation course they were more likely to take in the future, and (d) their overall attitude towards what they liked most about the online course and what suggestions they had for improving the course in the future.

4.1. Learners’ Evaluation of Their Own Performance

Figure 1 below displays how learners evaluated their own performance during the online pronunciation course. When reporting on their own dedication (5 = extremely dedicated; 4 = dedicated; 3 = somewhat dedicated; 2 = not very dedicated; 1 = not at all dedicated), learners indicated that they were either extremely dedicated (30%) or dedicated (70%). None of the learners reported a low degree of dedication, which suggests that the learners in this study were, for the most part, motivated to learn L2 pronunciation. This finding is unsurprising because all of the L2 learners who participated in this online course did it voluntarily since they perceived a pressing need to improve their L2 pronunciation. The L2 learners who signed up for this online course were either living in an ESL context or had the plan to live in an ESL context in the near future, as they asserted. Therefore, they were somewhat cognizant of the fact that in order to be able to communicate successfully with others, whether it be native speakers or non-native speakers, in different venues, they needed to speak with the right pronunciation (M. Mahmoodi, personal communication, 18 June 2021). This finding aligns with the study by Lima (2020), who also found that the ITAs who participated in her online pronunciation course reported being highly motivated/dedicated given that they had perceived the importance of oral proficiency for successful communication with students as an ITA. Further, to investigate if there were any relationships between the degree of dedication and actual gains in intelligibility and comprehensibility, Pearson correlations were computed. Only comprehensibility gain was significantly related to dedication (r = 0.28, p = 0.04), suggesting that those learners who reported a higher dedication gained more in comprehensibility.

In addition, 60% responded that, by taking this online course, they learned more than they would in a regular class. Just 31.56% said that they learned as much as they would in a regular class, and less than ten percent (8.1%) indicated that they learned less than they would in a regular class. None of the learners reported learning much less than a regular class. That the majority of the learners believed they learned more than in a regular class could be attributed to a number of phenomena, including (1) the individualized and detailed feedback they received on their perception and production exercises, which would be next to impossible in face-to-face classes with a large number of learners; (2) the variety of perception and production exercises they completed for each lesson, which helped them gradually proceduralize the declarative knowledge they had accumulated through watching the instructional videos (DeKeyser, 2017); (3) the stress-free environment of the online course; and (4) self-determined pace (Rogerson-Revell, 2021). It should be noted that learners in this study did not have the experience of taking a face-to-face/in-person, stand-alone pronunciation course, and their responses to this question merely reflected what they believed/thought a face-to-face stand-alone pronunciation course would offer. These results, however, provide evidence for the effectiveness of the online course in providing L2 pronunciation training for learners.

In terms of their engagement with the instructor’s feedback, most of the learners either strongly agreed (61.65%) or agreed (36.65%) that they used the instructor’s feedback to improve their pronunciation and monitor their own progress. These findings are important because they indicate that the learners recognized the importance of feedback in facilitating their L2 pronunciation learning. Finally, the learners were asked if they had a positive experience with the online course; all either strongly agreed (68.3%) or agreed (31.5%) that they had a positive experience. This positive experience would have influenced the learners’ perseverance and persistence to complete the online course which resulted in significant gains in their intelligibility and comprehensibility over a short period of time.

Overall, the learners reported having had a good degree of dedication to the online course, learned more than they believed they would in a regular, face-to-face/in-person class, engaged with the instructor’s feedback, and had an overall positive experience with the online course.

4.2. Learners’ Evaluation of the Online Pronunciation Course

The previous section explored how learners assessed their own performance during the online pronunciation course. This section, however, provides a discussion on how they evaluated the online course per se in terms of overall usefulness, quality, and clarity of the instructions. As for the overall usefulness (5 = extremely useful; 4 = useful; 3 = somewhat useful; 2 = not very useful; 1 = not at all useful), 55% and 43.3% of the learners reported that the online course was either extremely useful or useful, respectively. Only 1.8% of the learners responded that the course was somewhat useful. In terms of clarity of the instructions (5 = extremely clear; 4 = clear; 3 = somewhat clear; 2 = not clear; 1 = not at all clear), 63.3% and 35% of the learners reported that the instructions were either extremely clear or clear, respectively. Finally, when asked about the overall quality of the online course (5 = excellent; 4 = good; 3 = average; 2 = poor; 1 = terrible), 63.3% of the learners conferred a rating of excellent and only 1.65% of the learners rated the quality of the online course as average. Figure 2 illustrates a summary of the results.

The learners’ favorable ratings could be explained by a number of reasons. First, the design of the online pronunciation course was informed by the meticulous integration of insights from L2 pronunciation research, a practice that is often overlooked in the development of many pronunciation courses (Huensch, 2019). For instance, the variety of activities included in each lesson reflected the communicative framework for teaching pronunciation by Celce-Murcia et al. (2010). According to this model, each lesson involved three main parts: (1) explicit instruction through instructional lectures and complementary reading materials, which were intended to raise the learners’ awareness to notice the pronunciation feature under study; (2) perception exercises, which tested the learners’ ability to identify the feature or distinguish it from other features; and (3) an array of controlled, guided, and communicative production exercises, which facilitated the proceduralization of knowledge gradually in different phases. Second, the online course underwent two rounds of piloting. In the first round, two pronunciation scholars checked the instructions of each module for clarity, and in cases where an ambiguity in instructions was detected, it was discussed and fixed. In the second round, the online course was piloted with seven L2 learners, and additional changes were made based on the feedback received from the learners. In this case, all potential ambiguities/confusion were fixed before the online pronunciation course was launched. Third, in selecting the platform for the online instruction, several LMS (e.g., Canvas, Litmos, Sakai, and Google Classroom) were compared in terms of a number of quality criteria (e.g., user-friendliness, accessibility, and technical support) and also advice was sought from colleagues and friends, and finally, Moodle was chosen because it met the set quality standards. These findings highlight the importance of careful course design in shaping positive learners’ perceptions.

4.3. What Type of Pronunciation Course You Are More Likely to Take in the Future

The next part of the survey asked the learners to indicate, based on their current experience with the online course, whether they would prefer a face-to-face, completely online, or hybrid pronunciation course in the future. The results are displayed in Figure 3 below. Most of the learners chose either a completely online (43.3%) or a hybrid pronunciation course (36.65%). Only a small percentage of the learners (20%) said that they preferred a face-to-face pronunciation course in the future. Given that the learners’ responses to this question were tied to their perceptions of the online course’s overall usefulness, quality, and clarity of the instructions, these findings provide further evidence in support of the effectiveness of the current online pronunciation course as viewed by the learners who took the course.

To gain a deeper insight into their rationale for choosing any one of the options above, the learners were further prompted to provide reasons for their choice. The learners’ qualitative responses were analyzed for recurring themes. Figure 4 below shows the categories extracted based on the learners’ responses for choosing each one of the courses above. Overall, 26 out of 60 learners selected a completely online course. The most common reasons for choosing a completely online course were convenience (13 instances), accessibility (9 instances), flexibility (4 instances), and individualized feedback (7 instances).

With regards to convenience, the learners highlighted that by taking an online course, they could save time and learn pronunciation in the comfort of their own room:

Excerpt #1

I learned all the things I need from the online class without leaving my room, it was very convenient.

Excerpt #2

Online way saves us a lot of commute time and the information is passed on the way it is in a classroom.

Excerpt #3

I am more willing to take online courses. It is much easier for me to organize my time, and also save the time for me to go to the classroom.

Pertaining to accessibility, the learners acknowledged that an online course provided them with the opportunity to take courses offered outside of their country of residence:

Excerpt #4

It’s easier to practice pronunciation online, and it’s more practical as I live in Brazil.

Excerpt #5

The online format gives me the opportunity to take classes out of my country. I think it is a great opportunity for me to take a pronunciation class in an English speaking country.

Excerpt #6

In my country, we don’t have a pronunciation class. This online class helped me take a pronunciation class in another country.

As for flexibility, the learners emphasized that the asynchronous mode of the course made it possible for them to watch the tutorials and complete the activities whenever they wanted for how many times they whished:

Excerpt #7

I like an online course because I am able to watch the tutorial videos at any time I want, and I can pause that and listen to it as much as I want.

Excerpt #8

I like an online course because the online program is flexible, and I can combine it perfectly with my daily activities any time.

In relation to individualized feedback, the learners remarked that through an online course they could receive detailed and targeted feedback on their pronunciation deviations, which was not feasible in face-to-face classes due to a large number of students in a class:

Excerpt #9

Because I can receive detailed feedback for each of my recordings, and I am not sure if I can receive this feedback from a face-to-face course (I think I cannot because the instructor has to provide the feedback for the whole class during class time).

Excerpt #10

I think feedback is the most important advantage of online classes. The teacher gave comprehensive feedback [on] all my errors. I’m not sure if I can get much feedback in face-to-face class.

In total, 12 out of 60 learners selected a face-to-face pronunciation course, and they provided some justifications such as effective instruction (eight instances) immediate feedback (seven instances), effective communication (five instances), and technology-related issues (three instances).

For the effective instruction, the learners mostly mentioned that they would learn more through a face-to-face pronunciation course because they could see the mouth movements of the instructor when they pronounced new words:

Excerpt #11

If I were attending a face-to-face class for teaching pronunciation, then my teacher might have the opportunity to show the actual inner mouth activity, so that I can learn more.

Excerpt #12

English pronunciation is different in many ways. It is hard to completely understand when someone speaks the exact word without seeing the person speak through their mouth.

Those learners who brought up immediate feedback unanimously agreed that face-to-face classes were more effective because they could receive immediate corrective feedback which would raise their awareness about their errors and help them perfect their pronunciation:

Excerpt #13

I would take pronunciation course face-to-face if possible because the teacher could correct my pronunciation immediately. For the most parts, I do not know whether I am doing wrong, so I need a teacher to tell me.

Excerpt #14

The regular class remains the best way to learn according to me because the feedback is given at the same instant that you’re learning. And you have the possibility to learn directly from your teacher when he’s speaking. You can perfect the pronunciation of many words during the class.

Effective communication was another common reason that the learners commented. In this respect, some of them stated that in face-to-face pronunciation classes, they could communicate with the course instructor more effectively and ask questions if they failed to understand part of a lesson:

Excerpt #15

I think I have more opportunities to learn from face-to-face classes because I can ask teachers about my doubts immediately and interact with them. If I don’t understand something, they can see my problems and then help me.

Excerpt #16

Face-to-face classes help me better communicate with the teacher and ask my questions. I can also communicate with my classmates and ask them my questions.

Some other learners highlighted technology-related issues as one of the driving forces for choosing face-to-face pronunciation classes and maintained that these issues would hinder effective communication with the course instructor:

Excerpt #17

I think it is more convenient to communicate in regular classes. Sometimes the connection is not good, which will reduce the efficiency of communication.

Altogether, 22 out of 60 learners chose a hybrid class. The learners stated that a hybrid class would benefit them more because it would incorporate all the advantages that a completely online or face-to-face/in-person class would separately offer, including the flexibility and convenience of an online class as well as effective instruction, immediate feedback, and effective communication available in a face-to-face class. For instance, some of the learners remarked the following:

Excerpt #18

That will be fantastic to watch the videos at home and then go to the regular classes where the teacher can give immediate feedback and where I can interact with the teacher directly without waiting for emails.

Excerpt #19

I like working in-person to get feedback but at the same time, online instruction gives some flexibility of time. So a hybrid model is ideal.

Excerpt #20

I think this online pronunciation course made me learn and review a lot of phonetic symbols, intonation, stress, etc. In addition, we can use Praat that is able to recognize pitch and stress to help us check and correct errors. However, I choose a mixture of online and offline classes because face-to-face teaching and interaction may enable us to pay more attention to and understand pronunciation in certain contexts better.

Excerpt #21

It was very nice to work by myself when I have time to work on my pronunciation. This program highlighted my problem, so I now know what I have to be careful about and what I have to work on. At the same time, there are some sounds specially with vowels that are very difficult for me to pronounce so I think a face-to-face course would be useful to come with an online course.

The findings of this part of the survey largely replicate those of Lima (2020) who found that after four weeks of online pronunciation instruction, the majority of the ITAs reported that they would either prefer a fully online or a hybrid course in the future. The congruence between the findings of these two studies might further indicate that (1) when carefully designed and implemented, an online course would appeal to L2 learners’ interests and they would prefer that to a traditional/face-to-face class and (2) L2 learners largely hold similar attitudes towards and expectations for an online, hybrid, or face-to-face class. For instance, an online course seems appealing to the learners due to its convenience and flexibility, among other reasons, while at the same time they value a hybrid course because of the immediate feedback that they can receive on their errors from the instructor. These are all important points that teachers need to consider when they design an online course.

4.4. Overall Attitude Towards Online Pronunciation Course

The last part of the questionnaire elicited responses about the learners’ overall attitude towards what they liked most about the online pronunciation course and what suggestions they had for improving the online pronunciation course in the future. Figure 5 below displays the frequency of the categories extracted. With regards to the former question, the analyses of the learners’ qualitative responses revealed that the overwhelming majority found the course appealing because of its flexibility (33 instances), variety of activities (17 instances), and detailed and individualized feedback (16 instances). As for flexibility, some learners asserted that (given that the responses were similar, one representative response was selected and presented below):

Excerpt #22

We [could] complete the exercises at anytime and anywhere. And if we [had] any questions about some points, we [could] play the relevant recording several time.

Regarding the variety of activities, what the learners enjoyed most and repeatedly reflected in their comments was that the course incorporated a combination of (1) explicit instruction, (2) perception exercises, and (3) different production exercises (i.e., controlled, guided, and communicative). For instance, some of the learners mentioned the following:

Excerpt #23

I loved the activities, [because] they were so interactive and clear. Also, the instructional videos [had] a good language and [were] easy to understand. Perception exercises and production exercises cooperate[d] with each other, the perception exercises [were] pretty helpful for your production exercises, which I think is really a great design here.

Excerpt #24

I like the variety of the exercises this course contain[ed]. It set all my senses up and put all I learned together.

Those who highlighted individualized and detailed feedback unanimously conveyed that the he feedback they received in this online pronunciation course raised their awareness of their weaknesses and facilitated their L2 pronunciation learning. For instance, some learners asserted the following:

Excerpt #25

I really liked the feedback… in this pronunciation course, I [had] a complete and fast feedback, and I used this to realize which were my pronunciation problems—that I didn’t realize before—and to improve my pronunciation.

Excerpt #26

But the most part I like[d] in this course [was] the feedback from instructor. It’s personalized, prompt and really tailored to me, which I could not get from a real class.

Finally, in addition to flexibility, the variety of activities, and detailed and individualized feedback, few other learners mentioned using Praat (five instances) as one of the appeals of the online course. For instance, some of the learners mentioned the following:

Excerpt #27

The use of Praat [was] one of the biggest gains of this course, because it [could] clearly reflect our pitch, stress, etc., which [was] very helpful for effective oral English.

Excerpt #28

I really enjoyed working with Praat. It was a new experience and helped me learn stress and intonation better. I think I can use Praat in the future by myself.

Overall, the online pronunciation course appealed to the learners owing to its flexibility, variety of activities, and detailed and individualized feedback. Also, few learners mentioned using Praat for teaching and practicing some lessons (i.e., lexical stress, prominence, and intonation) as one of the highlights of the online pronunciation course.

Finally, the last question prompted learners to express their opinions about what suggestions they had for improving the online pronunciation course in the future. Figure 6 below displays a summary of the categories extracted along with their frequency. Out of sixty learners, only fourteen provided suggestions, and the rest expressed that they were satisfied with the current form and quality of the online course. The most common recommended improvement, however, was making the instructional videos more illustrative (11 instances out of 14). For instance, some the learners stated the following:

Excerpt #29

I think to improve the course you could use more animations when giving the example pronunciations to fully understand the movement of the mouth.

Excerpt #30

I believe video lessons can be more illustrative to be helpful to understand the concept easier. You can achieve this by including more charts and pictures.

These comments are due to the fact that the instructional videos incorporated in the online pronunciation course mainly featured explanations and examples on PowerPoint slides with only few charts and pictures. The second most common recommendation was adding a synchronous part to the online course (6 instances out of 14). In this regard, some of the learners commented the following:

Excerpt #31

The online course would be more effective if the instructional videos were replaced by synchronous teaching, so that they could better interact with the instructor and ask their questions.

Excerpt #32

I hope you could have a face-to-face teaching part through [Z]oom so that we could communicate with the professor face to face.

5. Conclusions and Implications

The current study is among the (very) few experiments I am aware of to explore L2 learners’ perceptions of an online (asynchronous) pronunciation course. As the findings indicated, the learners were (highly) satisfied with the design of the course, and the majority of them preferred it over a face-to-face pronunciation instruction. Some of the features that the learners mentioned as being particularly beneficial were convenience, flexibility, accessibility, and individualized feedback. The findings of this study are pedagogically encouraging since pronunciation instruction is frequently marginalized in language teaching due to the prioritization of other skills, such as grammar and vocabulary (Couper, 2017). Online courses, however, can compensate for this gap by offering flexible and individual instruction that students can engage with outside of class time. The findings of this study, which indicated positive learners’ perceptions of online pronunciation instruction, underscore its potential as an effective complement to face-to-face instruction. This study also featured the use of CAPT resources (e.g., Praat) and adopted the principles of the communicative framework established by Celce-Murcia et al. (2010) for presenting and practicing each new feature, which were both perceived positively by the learners. This finding confirms that by leveraging technology to provide targeted practice and immediate feedback, online platforms can enhance pronunciation learning in ways that traditional classrooms often struggle to achieve (usually due to a large number of learners in each class). This highlights the importance of integrating thoughtfully designed online resources into pronunciation instruction to address the limitations of traditional teaching contexts. This is an important consideration that L2 pronunciation teachers should be aware of when they make decisions regarding how to design and implement an online course.

Despite the potential pedagogical implications, the current study is marked by some limitations. First, the study did not collect information regarding the learners’ motivation, the amount of exposure to English, and their familiarity with CAPT resources, all of which are likely to influence the learners’ engagement with and the amount of effort they invest in the online course. Second, while this study examined L2 learners’ perceptions of the online course, most of the participants did not have any experience with a standalone, face-to-face pronunciation class, which might have resulted in a biased perception on the end of the participants. Thus, it is recommended that the future study address this limitation by including two groups of participants, one receiving an asynchronous online pronunciation training and the other group standalone face-to-face pronunciation instruction and then compare learners’ perceptions on the effectiveness of the instruction delivered through two different types of modalities. Finally, the current study merely investigated learners’ perceptions of an online course, without exploring how positive perceptions were likely to bring about meaningful gains in their pronunciation proficiency. Future studies are recommended to explore if and to what extent positive perception is linked to the learners’ gains in pronunciation proficiency.